


All I Know

by thatsamoireh



Series: Tuesdayverse [2]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Aunt Tessa, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Uncle Scott
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-27 02:32:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18295070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsamoireh/pseuds/thatsamoireh
Summary: Whether it was a picnic in the park, dinner in, or Scott stopping by her shop with a warm chocolate croissant from that bakery near his place, they haven’t gone a Tuesday without seeing each other since they met, and Scott is a giant romantic sap. (Tessa loves it.)Or: Scott and Tessa, a couple months in.





	All I Know

**Author's Note:**

  * For [peacefulboo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/peacefulboo/gifts).



> It’s peacefulboo’s birthday and I wrote her a thing! Since she was the inspiration for the fluff-fest that was the first Tuesdayverse fic, I decided to revisit Scott and Tessa a couple months into their relationship and see where things stand. Cameos by nieces, nephews, meddling siblings, and Stanley the dog. Happy Birthday, boo!
> 
> In addition to being a fantastic friend, boo is also the only person I ever talk through my VM fics with (never ending list of wips included, oops) and she’s also my beta. So I kept this one on the downlow and when it came time for a read through, that would have been like making boo wrap her own present, handing it back to her, and saying, “Surprise!”. 
> 
> Thanks to iwantthemtostay and carmen_sandiego for stepping up hugely to help me out with betas. I think you’ll both agree that boo deserves the best, and I know you wouldn’t say that about yourselves so I’ll say it for you. You’re the best!

She didn’t pick up on it right away, but after a few weeks of dating Scott, she realized that no matter what else was happening in their schedules he always made some time for her on Tuesdays. Whether it was a picnic in the park, dinner in, or Scott stopping by her shop with a warm chocolate croissant from that bakery near his place, they haven’t gone a Tuesday without seeing each other since they met, and Scott is a giant romantic sap. (Tessa loves it.)

On this particular Tuesday night, Scott is preparing the chicken and rice while Tessa chops veggies and puts together a salad, moving comfortably together around his kitchen. And around Stanley, who splits his time between shadowing her (because she accidentally drops things) and him (because this dog knows a sucker when he sees one) in what is quickly becoming a practiced dance. 

Sometimes actual dancing is involved if Scott’s really feeling the music they have playing while they cook. He’ll twirl her around to an upbeat song for a few bars while she laughs and tries to hold onto the peppers or tomatoes in her hands, or draw her in close to sway together through a slow song, meal prep forgotten for a blissful few moments that occasionally border on disaster for their dinner. (They only set off the fire alarm _once_ and Scott rightfully took responsibility, waggling his eyebrows and declaring it worth it as he dumped the ruined stir fry in the trash and cheerfully ordered them a pizza.)

Dinner is delicious and disaster-free (aside from a brief interlude as Tessa tried to remember the dance break from “Bye Bye Bye” and almost lost them the salad dressing). With the last of the dishes washed, Tessa grabs a couple pieces of the dark chocolate Scott’s started to keep on hand for her and joins him and Stanley on the couch where he’s got their movie queued up.

He’s been on a mission to introduce Tessa to his favorite rom-coms. It’s more of an all encompassing masterclass really, since Scott insists she needs to see some of the bad ones to truly appreciate the good ones. Romantic movie-wise, Tessa’s repertoire is pretty much only Audrey Hepburn films and _The Princess Bride_ , which Scott does concede include some of the greatest love stories ever told. So she’s not hopeless, he declares, but she has a lot to learn.

His choice for tonight is the 1992 classic _The Cutting Edge_ and Tessa soon discovers she’s in for a running commentary on inaccuracies about the figure skating world that she definitely wouldn’t have even noticed. While she can’t really focus on the movie’s plot with all his interruptions, he’s too cute all worked up like this for her to care. 

(It’s a lot like last week when Scott chose _The Wedding Planner_ and Tessa, proud owner of Virtue Bridal, just couldn’t sit back and watch without letting Scott know how _wrong_ it was.

She was mid-rant about how _completely unprofessional_ Jennifer Lopez’s character was being _again_ \- not to mention the audacity of her client - when she’d caught Scott watching her and not the television, with a little smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

“What?” she’d asked, patting her face and then her hair. It was in a messy ponytail but it’s not like Scott hadn’t seen her with much worst bed-head (his fault, and he happily took the blame) so that ship had sailed anyway. 

“Nothing,” he said, but his growing grin told a different story. He drew her in, eyes dancing as he pulled her legs across his lap. “It’s just that I’m in love with you.”

Scott pressed their foreheads together, giving them both a moment to take that in. This was a big step and she knew he didn’t want her to feel pressured into saying it back yet if she wasn’t ready. 

Tessa tipped her head up and kissed him, trying to show him what she couldn’t yet say. Her fingers sifted through his hair in the way she knew drove him a little wild. He meet her eagerly and her earlier outrage faded from her mind completely when Scott trailed searing kisses down her neck. 

They didn’t finish the movie that night.)

As _The Cutting Edge_ continues playing, Scott goes off on another tangent (this one about how disgustingly rich Kate’s dad must be because it’s damn near impossible to get private ice for training) and she hides her smile in his shoulder. 

She knows Scott was an ice dancer (the couple in the movie are pairs skaters, which is _different_ ; Scott made sure she knew the distinction well before hockey player Doug mastered his toe picks on screen) until his early teens but then his partner had a growth spurt, Scott didn’t, and that was that. Skating is in his blood though, and he’s become a respected coach in the area (his family bragged about him so much at Shea’s birthday party; it was so sweet). He works with little kids on their skating skills and has begun building a reputable dance program at his family’s rink with a few promising young teams.

“We should go skating,” Scott says suddenly, squeezing her knee where her legs are curled up against him under a soft fleece blanket.

“Right now?” Tessa jokes and Scott pinches her thigh, high enough to make her squirm. Stanley snuffles indignantly at the disturbance to his nap and Tessa pats his head in apology.

“On Saturday. My whole family gets together about once a month at the rink. You should come.”

It’s actually kind of surprising they haven’t been skating yet when it’s such a huge part of Scott’s life, until Tessa thinks about how the start of their relationship centered mostly around playgrounds, nieces, nephews, and summer sunshine. Since their first real date the day after his nephew’s birthday party they’ve had a few more dates alone under their tree in the park and gone out to restaurants a handful of times, but mostly they stay in to make dinner and watch a movie, after which Scott has been making her breakfast a lot recently too.

Tessa thinks about how rusty she’ll be on the ice. She doesn’t like feeling out of her depth and she doesn’t love the idea of falling in front of her boyfriend and his family of skilled skaters, but it will be fun, and Scott looks so excited that she’d do just about anything he asked right now.

“I haven’t been skating since probably grade 6,” she warns him and he smiles _more_ , like that’s a good thing. He’s impossible. (To resist.) “Okay. I’m in.”

“You could bring the girls too?” he asks hopefully, and then reconsiders. “Well, probably not Violet. She should master walking first. And I wouldn’t want her parents to miss the cuteness of her first time in skates.”

He’s right, Casey and Megan definitely wouldn’t want to miss that, plus Violet is still too small for Tessa to want to be responsible for her safety on the ice anyway. She’s not quite at that level of Super Aunt confidence yet.

“I’ll see if Poppy can come. I think she’s been a few times.” She’ll need to make sure she can take her niece for an Aunt Tessa Day, which is a whole new concept in her life these days thanks to Scott’s influence. Spending time with kids on her own voluntarily is not something she ever thought she was cut out for, but it’s just another thing she’s learned about herself since she met Scott.

Like how she’d deny it if anyone asks, but all these cheesy romantic comedies are starting to grow on her a little bit. She snuggles closer to Scott and focuses on the movie again. Maybe she can pick up a thing or two before Saturday. 

 

\-----------------

 

“Want to do brunch tomorrow?” Jordan asks, topping off their wine glasses. “There’s a new place on Richmond with bottomless mimosas.”

It’s Friday night and her sister stopped by unannounced an hour ago to decompress after a long work week, but she brought lots of take out Thai and a bottle of wine so Tessa is not complaining.

“I can’t, I’m taking Poppy ice skating tomorrow.” She spoons herself out a little more green curry and mentally checks her calendar. “I can do Sunday?”

“Skating, huh?” Jordan holds Tessa’s refilled wine glass just out of reach, with a teasing older sister smirk. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with Scott the super uncle skating coach you’ve never introduced us to, would it?”

“I’m not hiding him from you, Jordan,” Tessa laughs. “It’s just that we’re either on dates that - as much as I love you - you are absolutely not invited on, or else we’ve had some of the kids with us.”

She steals her wine back as Jordan concedes the point. As much as she loves her nieces, Jordan’s more allergic to the idea of being responsible for a child on her own than Tessa was at the beginning of the summer when she started watching Poppy and Violet once a week until school started.

“And you say ‘never’ like we’ve been together for more than a couple months. I can ask if he wants to do brunch with us on Sunday?” Tessa suggests. It really is a good idea, actually, and maybe she can invite all her siblings to meet him at once. It’s low-key, and then he’ll already know them by the time some big family event comes around. “Casey and Megan want to meet him too. And I’ll call Kevin. Mom can watch the girls because if they come, you won’t get to talk to him at all.” 

She can’t blame her niece for going on about Scott (and his dog) so much that her brother and his wife have also been asking why they haven’t met him yet. Violet probably would be too, if she could form sentences. He’s three for three on charming Virtue women.

“Sounds good.” Jordan grins, and then confesses, “Not gonna lie, I was hoping to catch him over here when I showed up tonight.”

Tessa stares wide eyed and opened mouthed, incredulous but amused by her sister’s ulterior motive. “Jord!”

“I brought enough food for three,” Jordan points out, like it’s a reasonable defense for trying to crash Tessa’s potential date night and ambush Scott into meeting her. If he _had_ been there, they haven’t seen each other since Tuesday so it’s pretty likely they wouldn’t have been… fit for company.

“Just for that, I’m keeping all the leftovers,” Tessa declares, and steals a summer roll from Jordan’s plate.

 

\-----------------

 

Tessa pulls up in front of the blue expanse of the Ilderton Arena. She’d seen it from across Scott’s parents’ yard on Shea’s birthday, thinking about how fun it must have been for Scott and his brothers to have the family-owned rink so close when they were kids.

In the backseat, Poppy is over the moon with excitement. Casey confirmed that the four year old has been skating a couple times and will know what to expect. The last time was for a birthday party so he wasn’t there, but he’s pretty sure she can mostly stay on her feet. Great. Tessa is feeling like aunt and niece might be at about the same skill level here. (Casey also confirmed that he and Megan are in for brunch tomorrow, but they won’t tell Poppy who they’re going to see without her.)

Just inside the chilly arena Tessa runs into Scott’s cousin Cara, who’s passing by carrying a small blue coat, a Leafs toque, one small green sneaker, and a single kid-sized hockey skate. She probably doesn’t want to know. 

Cara waves them in when Tessa tries to pay the open skate admission fee. “We’re under strict orders not to let anyone take a dime from you. Scott has you covered. Go.”

They go to the boards at the edge of the rink and Poppy hops up and down, trying to see over the top. Tessa picks her up and it doesn’t take long to spot Scott holding court for a group of kids at center ice. Tessa expected nothing less.

He’s leading some sort of game that she guesses helps with balance, weaving this way and that with arm movements and a call-and-answer song that she’s too far away to make out. They’re all giggling as they repeat after him and follow him like little ducklings. 

Scott’s next move has him facing directly at Tessa with his arms up over his head. He sees them and grins, waving a little, and wraps up the song. He turns to the kids and grandly appoints Charlotte, the oldest looking kid in the bunch, as the new leader of the game. She takes on her new responsibility dutifully, organizing the kids for another round, and Scott slips away.

As he skates over, Tessa lets Poppy down, because she’s not so little anymore. 

“Hi, T,” Scott leans over the boards to kiss Tessa quickly, and then stays close.

“Hi,” she says softly. His skin is chilled but he still makes her feel so warm.

“Hi!” Poppy cheerfully reminds them that they’re not alone.

Scott huffs out a laugh against Tessa’s lips. He drops a kiss at the corner of her mouth and winks before turning his attention to Tessa’s niece. “Hi Poppy! Love your shirt.“

When Tessa picked her up this morning she knew he’d like the shirt Megan had chosen for her daughter. There’s a glittery, smiling cartoon ice cube and the caption is, of course, _Have an ice day!_

“Thank you,” Poppy says happily. “It has sparkles!”

“Sparkles are the best,” Scott agrees. “Let’s get you ladies some skates, eh?”

He asks their sizes (Tessa had checked with Megan) and slips behind the counter to raid the rental shelves, stopping to fist bump the teenage boy manning the desk.

Scott produces their skates and a red hockey helmet for Poppy with a flourish. Tessa’s pretty sure it’s a practiced spoonful of sugar technique to make wearing the helmet cool and exciting and it works like a charm on Poppy, who’s enamoured by pretty much everything Scott does these days. (Tessa knows the feeling, kid.)

“Let’s get these skates on, Pops,” Scott says,as he helps her while Tessa laces her own skates. Scott explains what he’s doing as he goes, teaching Poppy little rhymes and tricks to help her learn to do it herself someday soon.

“Skates, helmet, gloves, zipped up coat,” Scott checks off, and Poppy points out each thing proudly. “Okay. Are we ready?”

“Yep!” Poppy confirms. Tessa’s a little less sure, but she nods at Scott and they head for the entrance to the ice. 

He steps out and offers his hand to Tessa for balance. She takes it gratefully and keeps the other on the boards, not taking any chances just yet. She doesn’t immediately fall, which was the worst case scenario, so that’s good. She can’t be the best at everything and she knows that, it’s just that this particular thing is so important to Scott and she doesn’t want to feel like she’s letting him down.

Scott raises an eyebrow to confirm that she’s steady and she nods (she’s still keeping one hand on the boards for now; she’s not reckless), so he squeezes her hand and releases it, turning to Poppy.

“Come on,” Scott encourages, bending a little and holding out his hands. “I’m right here if you need me. I’ve got you.”

Poppy has an adorably determined look on her face as she clutches the boards with her purple gloved hands and steps out onto the ice.

Then she takes five solid strokes right past Scott with her arms out for balance (and a little bit for flair, if Tessa knows her niece at all) and spins in a semi-wobbly circle, grinning triumphantly up at them when she comes back around.

Tessa smiles and claps, then begins to laugh at the look of shocked delight on Scott’s face.

“Poppy!” Scott crouches to her level and holds both hands up for high fives. “That was amazing! Aunt Tessa didn’t tell me you were a figure skating superstar.”

He glances up at her and she shrugs, still laughing. Aunt Tessa didn’t _know_. 

Poppy giggles at his praise.”I can go backwards!” she reveals, and the determined look comes back as she focuses, gets into position, and slowly glides backwards a few feet.

“Great job, Pops!” Tessa is so proud of the driven, funny, sweet little person her niece is becoming. She goes for her own high five.

Quinn skates up and asks if Poppy can come over to play with the other kids. By this point it’s clear to Tessa that her niece is a far better skater at nearly five than she is at 29. Honestly, Poppy will probably be safer (and have more fun) surrounded by the group of mostly Moir or Moir-adjacent kids who Tessa knows have all been skating since they could walk.

They watch the girls skate away, Quinn keeping her pace slow so Poppy can keep up. Tessa sees Shea and the other kids greet her, as Charlotte and Mason finish chasing each other and race up to her in their hockey skates.

“I had a whole big plan for how I was going to teach Poppy to skate and impress you but she doesn’t need me at all,” Scott pouts, but then he laughs at himself. “I should know never to underestimate a Virtue woman.”

“That’s right," Tessa says smugly. 

She realizes then that she let go of the boards awhile ago and she’s been staying upright just fine. Not that she’s moved much, but maybe she’ll be better at this than she thought.

“Ready?” Scott asks, and holds out his hand to her again. She nods and he starts to guide her in a slow, simple loop around the edge of the rink. Just stroking together and holding hands. He doesn’t tease or flood her with instructions, just helps her without judgement and his sure, steady grip when her balance occasionally wavers.

She gets her feet under her soon enough and they both relax, content to skate the perimeter surrounded by the organized chaos of an open skate made up of 80% Moirs.

They skate and laugh, continuously interrupted by kids Scott coaches, is related to, or both, as well as other relatives Tessa met at Shea’s party who want to catch up with her. Or, in Charlie’s case, rib them a little until Scott’s ears go red. He goes for the back of Charlie’s knee to knock him off balance, which evolves into the two brothers playfully tussling and trash talking about hockey skills somehow. 

(Tessa mostly notices that Charlie was teasing them _both_. She didn’t really know she wanted that confirmation of approval from his brother, but she’s glad she got it.) 

Danny skates over and breaks it up by depositing Cruz, who was asking for his dad, into Charlie’s arms (and by reminding them he’s better than _both of them_ at hockey). Cruz points at his dad and says something very important sounding to Tessa, so she nods along. 

She has a moment of missing Violet, and hopes that she can bring her skating with the Moirs sometime. Maybe in a few years when she’s as steady on her feet as Poppy. (And maybe Tessa likes the idea of Moirs and _years_ in the same thought.)

She can tell Scott’s starting to feel antsy being stationary on the ice, so she rolls her eyes fondly and excuses them, sharing a knowing look with his brothers. 

The go back to making lazy loops and eventually Scott starts to feel adventurous, positioning them into a few simple dance holds, and explaining as he goes.

“Okay,” he says softy in her ear when they try the Killian position. “Right, left, right. There we go. We got this.”

On one pass close to center ice where the littlest kids are still gathered, Scott detours away from Tessa and heads toward Shea, who starts to clap from excitement. 

“Up! Up! Up! Up!” he chants and puts his arms out airplane-style, clearly ready for whatever practiced game he’s done with his uncle before.

Scott checks that they’re safe distance from the other kids and scoops Shea up with hands under his arms, spinning in a circle with Shea’s limbs spread like he’s flying. He comes to a stop after three turns but Shea’s feet keep kicking so Scott holds him straight out, looking like an inept dad in a bad movie who’s afraid of a stinky diaper.

“Watch those feet, little man,” Scott reminds him. “What did we learn about skates?”

“Blades are sharp,” Shea reports. “Don’t touch!”

“That’s right.” He’s still kicking, and very happy to miss the point, so Scott puts him down, laughing.

He skates back over to Tessa, shaking his head.

“Up!” she teases, “Up! Up!”

“I’ll show you ‘up’,” he threatens in a low voice that seems somehow dirtier than he probably means for it to sound in this company. He pulls her close by the lapels of her coat and she wraps her arms around his neck. He murmurs, “Do you trust me?”

Tessa nods because, of course.

“Hold on tight and jump.”

He’s gathering her up in a bridal style hold before she really even has time to register his instructions, but luckily they’re pretty instinctual. She grips tighter around his neck as she jumps into the arm coming up under her knees. He sweeps her off her feet (literally this time) and with everything spinning around them, he’s the only thing in focus so she takes him in. His eyes are shining as he laughs, cheeks flushed from cold and exertion, hair equally likely to be rumpled from the toque he wore to the rink as it is from playing with the kids. He holds her so effortlessly and she thinks about how he’s strong and capable, fun, funny, so caring, and kind. From the moment she met him under that tree in the park there’s been something about him that drew her in and she has the words to define it now.

 _Hold on tight and jump_ , she thinks.

Scott lets her down, one hand steady against her waist to make sure she regains her balance. He grabs her hand and drops a kiss to the back of it. 

“Hey,” she says while she can still feel the press of his lips against her skin. "I love you.”

“Yeah?” Scott’s head comes up, eyes wide and a little dazed. Keeping herself in place (toe pick!) she draws him close by his hips, loving the bright smile now illuminating his entire face.

“Yeah,” she confirms when there’s no more space between them.

“I love you too.” It comes out in a rush, like he can’t say it again fast enough.

“I heard that somewhere,” she teases.

“Want to hear it again?” He presses their foreheads together. His fingers find hers and he weaves them together.

“Mmm hmm,” she murmurs, the activity in the rink around them beginning to fade away and she leans up, ready to close the gap.

“Come and get it!” He steals a quick kiss and skates away backwards singing the call-and-answer song from earlier, complete with arm motions and a wicked grin.

On his face is a challenge and Tessa intends to collect.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "Feels Like Forever" by Joe Cocker from The Cutting Edge soundtrack because I couldn't resist.
> 
> If you have any ideas for more in this universe or just want to say hi, I’m thatsamoireh on tumblr too.


End file.
